VINTAGE 2014: A tale waiting to be told needs a kick start . . .

Wil Fernandez has a terrific story to share, but he needs your help.
Fernandez, founder of Central Coast Wine & Food, in November launched a Kickstarter campaign for VINTAGE 2014: The Stories Behind the Vines. Fernandez and the team plan an "interactive documentary," the first ever to follow a vintage from start to finish — from bud break on the vines to the barreling of the juice.

His team will interview vineyard managers and winemakers during the 2014 vintage, produce short films on key events, such as netting and pruning vines, and harvest, produce time lapse videos of the season and graph key data points — air temperature and brix levels.

Fernandez took Central Coast Wine & Food on the road last summer and traveled across part of the United States, offering pop-up tastings that featured wines from Santa Barbara County.

Viewers of VINTAGE 2014 will be able to follow one vineyard's changes month by month, or observe changes in different vineyards at the same time, Fernandez said.

But back to the money: Innovation such as this doesn't come cheap. There's aerial photography of vineyards, audio podcasting and web development.

This is where you come in.

Fernandez and his team launched a Kickstarter campaign in November to fund the project. Fernandez told me earlier today he'd like funding in place by Jan. 17 so that the team can begin.

With Michelle Ball, production director; Jeremy Ball, director of photography; Jonathan Baudoin, editor; Katie Falbo, events coordinator; and Robert Girvin, operations, Fernandez will offer wine tasting in various cities, a chance to question participating winemakers and, all the while, observe footage from the featured vineyards.

For sure, Fernandez has several winemakers already participating, including Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe, but he wants more to step up and join the team.